CHE 527

Module 5: Sugar Production plants and Equipment

COURSE LECTURER:
Dr. Elochukwu Agudosi
Dept. of Chemical Engineering
College of Engineering, Covenant University
[Link]@[Link]
elochukwuagudosi@[Link]
C10 (Ground floor, Left Wing)

06/12/2025 Covenant University, Dept. of Chemic 1

al Engineering, Sugar Technology (C
Sugar Production plants and Equipment
1) Delivery and unloading of cane
Sugarcane is transported to the factory via 2 means;
• by mechanical means: trailers, lorries and railway
wagons.
• by carts or drays.
i) By lorries;
• Cane is loaded in "packets" or bundles, bound by
three chains or "slings"(Fig. 1).
• At one end these slings slide in a special hook fitted
with a pawl, while a ring is attached to the other
end.
 1) Delivery and unloading of cane
• The crane lifts the bundle and deposits it on the
heap of cane which is called a "stock-pile".
 1) Delivery and unloading of cane
ii) By drays;
• Delivery from drays is generally made directly into
the cane carrier
• The driver then empties his drayload by hand into
the carrier.
• the horizontal portion of the carrier should be
furnished with protective wooden stops, which
serve to block the wheels of the dray and prevent
damage to the steel plates of the carrier.
Delivery and unloading of cane

Fig. 2. Lifting a bundle of cane.

 2) CANE-HANDLING EQUIPMENT

The principal types of equipment used at the factory

cane yard are:
i. The cane crane, or "derrick",
ii. The travelling crane,
iii. The tipping platform or truck tip,
iv. The cane rake.
 CANE-HANDLING EQUIPMENT

1. Cane crane:
• This is a very important device in sugar production
• It consists of a mast of fabricated steel, mounted on a pivot,
so that it can rotate through a full circle.
• The driver works in a cabin, attached to the base of the
mast, which houses the driving motor and the winding
drums for the various cables controlling the trolley.
• These cranes may be driven by steam, exhausting to
atmosphere, or by electric motor.
CLASSIFICATION OF CANE CRANE
• There are 2 classifications according to their mode of
support; Guyed cranes and Self-supporting cranes.
(a) Guyed cranes or derrick:
• This is a light crane
• It has cables or guy ropes attached to a ring at the top of the
mast to ensure stability of the crane
• fixed in the ground at a considerable distance from the axis
of the crane for easy rotation
• However, the number of guys is chosen so that breakage of
one of them does not cause the derrick to fall
• A minimum of 5 guys is required at 72o
Fig. 3. Crane with guys (Fives-Lille).
 Guyed cranes or derrick
• To obtain maximum rigidity, the cables must be
tighten
• The cables should be painted or tarred every two or
three years to prevent corrosion.
• For a crane of 3 tons capacity, 5 to 8 cables of 1 in.
(25 mm) diameter are provided.
(b) Self-supporting cranes:
• These cranes are heavier and more massive
• no guys are used hence it avoids the danger which
restrict movement at the cane yard
• In countries subject to cyclones, these cranes
should be designed for a wind pressure of at least
60 lb./[Link]. (300 kg/m2).
Fig. 4. Self-supporting pivoting crane (Fives-Lille).
 Characteristics of an unloading crane

1. Lifting force:
• This is the maximum weight which the crane can lift
at the end of the arm.
• It is the most important factor, which serves to
specify its capacity. E.g 3-ton or 5-ton crane.
F = 0.1C
Where F = lifting force in tons
C = crushing rate of the factory, in t.c.h.
 Characteristics of an unloading crane

•
 Characteristics of an unloading crane
(3) Maximum height of lift:
• This is the height from the end of the tines of the
grab above the platform level, when the grab is raised
to its maximum height.
• To increase this height, and at the same time to
enable the driver to oversee the operations and
traffic of the platform, the base of the derrick is
raised by placing it on a truncated cone of masonry
about 6 ft. in height.
• The height of lift is generally of the order of 20-25 ft.
(6-8 m).
H = 2 5 ft.
 Characteristics of an unloading crane
ii. The travelling crane:
• This system is close to derrick, instead of a circle, it
serves a rectangle, the length and breadth of which
may be fixed at will.
• For this reason, it will be indicated for certain long
and narrow cane yards which have not sufficient
space for a crane to swing.
• The transporter crane must obviously span the cane
carrier which it serves.
 Characteristics of an unloading crane
iii. Truck tip:
• When the cane arrives by railway trucks, it is more
practical to empty the truck in one action, rather
than to lift separately with the crane, the bundles of
cane piled in the truck.
• Advantages - Saves time, Saving in slings, less
handling
• There are two types of tip: The lateral tip, for large
wagons and the endwise tip, for small trucks
 Characteristics of an unloading crane
iv. Rakes:
• This is an auxiliary unloading device, which is used mostly in
some developed countries.
• Rake not only a "picking" movement and a to-and-fro
movement in a mean plane, but that it can also make the
same movement in a great number of planes forming a
dihedral angle of some 30-40° to one side or the other of
this mean plane.
• The width of the rake is such as to cover the full length of a
small truck (approx. 6 ft.).
3. The Cane Carrier
• The cane carrier or cane conveyor, conveys the cane
into the factory, and which assures the feed to the
mills by transporting the cane from the yard to the
crusher.
• Since effective feeding of the crusher requires an
elevated hopper, and the cane must be raised from
the level of the yard to that of the hopper, the carrier
always includes a sloping portion which include;
(a) The horizontal portion,
(b) The inclined portion,
(c) The head, where the cane arrives above the crusher.
Fig. 6. Cane carrier.
3. The Cane Carrier
• The slope of the inclined portion varies from 27% (15°) to a
maximum of 40% (22°).
• Generally, a value below 27% is not used. If too low a slope
is adopted, the cost of the installation and the space
occupied are increased.
• Best and commonest values are 30% (17°) to 38% (21°).
• Generally, the height from the ground level at the mills to
the highest point of the carrier will be about:
• 20-23 ft. in the case of an ordinary (2-roller) crusher,
• 13-16 ft. in the case of a mill-crusher (3 rollers).
3. The Cane Carrier
•
3. The Cane Carrier
•
3. The Cane Carrier
•
3. The Cane Carrier
•
3. The Cane Carrier
•
3. The Cane Carrier
•
3. The Cane Carrier
•
Methods of drive of cane carrier:
• In older installations, it was often the crusher which
drove the carrier, with the aid of a clutch.
• Nowadays, an independent drive is generally
provided; this gives more flexibility and freedom to
its operation.
• Two types of drive may be used:
(a) By steam engine:
• greater flexibility, permitting greater variation in
speed,
• offers great advantages over the electric motor
 Methods of drive of cane carrier:

(b) By electric motor:

• is preferable only in a fully electrified factory,

and should be selected and installed in such
a way as to give the greatest possible range
of speed variation.
4. Cane Knives
• The cane knives then perform two functions and
have two advantages:
(a) They favour the capacity of the mills
(b) They assist the extraction function of the mills by
breaking the rind of the cane and so facilitating its
disintegration and the extraction of its juice.
• It is then predominantly to improve the capacity of
the mills, that a set of knives is generally installed.
 4. Cane Knives

Fig. 7. Knives (Fives-Lille).

 4. Cane Knives
• It consists of a heavy shaft of square, hexagonal or octagonal
section mounted on roller bearings, and on which are
• threaded or fixed arms each carrying two blades
symmetrically placed with relation to the shaft.

Fig. 8. Types of knife.

 4. Cane Knives
• The slats of the cane carrier may be of wood, or of
steel.
• But preferably steel if not the boards will be
damaged by the blows of the knives and they will
allow pieces of cane to pass through the spaces
between them.
• Three types of prime mover are used for driving the
knives.
• Steam engine: effected in French countries with the
aid of high speed 2-cylinder steam engines of the
Larbodiere type which are excellent machines, very
reliable and robust.
4. Cane Knives
(b) Electric motor: is effected by a wound rotor
induction motor with slip-rings and with or
without provision for lifting the brushes
(c) Steam turbine: is technically the best, and
permits some degree of speed variation to be
obtained, but it is very expensive, as the cost of
the turbine may sometimes exceed twice that
of the electric motor.
4. Cane Knives
Power
The average power absorbed by a set of knives
depends on:
• The tonnage of cane.
• The fibre in cane.
• The proportion of cane actually cut
• The pitch.
• The speed of rotation
• The radius of the cutting circle
• Diverse variable factors
4. Cane Knives
•
4. Cane Knives
•
 5. Crushers
• Crusher uses a set of roller mills to extract the juice from
sugarcane.
• A countercurrent stream is used to remove the juice from
the crusher.
• A wide range of crushers are suitable for use by the small to
medium-scale sugar processors with capacities ranging
from 200kg to over 900kg of cane per hour.
• It is important to remember that cane must be crushed
within 24 hours of being cut. After this time the sugar
begins to 'invert' into different sugars that will not set solid.
TYPES OF CRUSHERS

• There are 2 major types of crusher, the roll mill, which is the
most common, and the screw expeller.
i)Roll mills:
• A proven technology which is easy to use and maintain and
extensively used in the large-scale sector as well as in the
small.
• The rolls, usually made from cast iron or steel, are located in
wooden, steel or cast iron frames.
• Typically roll mills used in the small-scale sector are either two
or three-roll configuration set vertically or horizontally.
Roll mills Contd
• An extraction rate of up to 65% is achievable from both animal
driven and small automated roll mills.
• larger roll-mills can extract up to 80% of the available juice
depending on the fibre content of the cane and if the cane is
prepared carefully.
• The pressure exerted by the mill on the cane is determined by the
gap between the top roller and the bottom rollers
• wide gap -poor extraction
• Small gap- cane may not pass through it or may cause the rollers to
jam.
• correct setting of the rollers has to be determined at the site of
crushing as it will be dependent upon the cane variety, size and
quality.
Roll mills Contd
• Speed: are typically between 5 and 50 r.p.m.
• Typically diesel and petrol engines have speeds of
700 to 2000 r.p.m while electric motors are usually
rated at 750 or 1500 r.p.m.
• Speed reduction is usually achieved by coupling the
engine to the crusher via flat or vee type belts and
pulleys.
ii) Screw expellers

• Screw expellers are not commonly used in the small-

scale sugar industry although they are more efficient
than roll mills.
• Typically a single expeller will have the same
extraction efficiency as a three or four three-roll mill
tandem.
• Their use in the small-scale sector has been limited
to experimental machines which have proved to be
unreliable thus requiring more maintenance.
6. Shredders
• The function of the shredder is to complete the preparation
and disintegration of the cane, so as to facilitate the
extraction of juice by the mills.
TYPES
There are 4 types of shredder:
i) The disc (National) shredder:
• It consists of two cylinders the axial plane of which is inclined
at an angle of approximately 45° to the horizontal.
• Each of the two rollers consists of discs placed side by side
• the lower roller has 7 discs; the upper roller have 6 discs, plus
a half-disc at each end.
 Shredders Contd
• Speed: The upper roller is driven at a speed between 150
and 180 r.p.m., while the lower roller runs at a much
higher speed, ranging from 300-700 r.p.m.
• Drive: The shredder is driven by belts. Generally the belt
provided for the lower roller is twice the width of that for
the upper,
• Power: The commonest size corresponds to a shredder
with 7 discs, the cylinders of which have the same
dimensions as a crusher of 22 X 56 in.
• Wear and life of discs: The discs are of chilled cast iron
and very hard. They can treat about 80,000 tons of cane
before renewal is necessary
Fig. 11. Disc shredder (elevation).
Shredders Contd

ii)Searby type pulveriser

• This is the standard type of shredder.
• It is a swing-hammer pulveriser operating in a steel housing
• the cane enters by the hopper at the top, and leaves in a
broken-up condition between anvil bars placed at the lower
part of the housing at a small clearance from the cylinder
described by the tips of the hammers
• This shredder may be placed-
a) between the crusher and the first mill: the shredder operates
better on a cane, It consumes less power and functions more
smoothly, Its feed is more continuous and uniform
b) The head of the tandem: greater power consumption,
installation easier, increased capacity
 Shredders Contd
• Drive: The shredder is generally driven directly by an
electric motor, through a flexible coupling.
• Speed: speed of 1,000 – 1500 r.p.m. is adopted.
• Power: Searby type consume an average of 2 h.p. per
t.c.h.; however, in order to allow for momentary
peak loads, the motors installed have a nominal
power of 3.5 h.p. per t.c.h.
 Shredders Contd

iii) Morgan disintegrator:

• recent invention, found only in exceptional cases.
• It can be installed only after a set of knives. It consists of a
rotor like that of a centrifugal pump
• Drive: directed by electric motor, steam engine or turbine,
through a flexible coupling.
• Speed: 600 r.p.m.
• Power: A figure of 4 h.p./t.c.h. is quoted, but the power
consumption drops at times to 3 or even 2 h.p./t.c.h. The
installed power varies from 4 to 5 h.p./t.c.h.
Shredders Contd

iv) Maxwell "combing" shredder:

• It consists of a steel cylinder 25 in. in diameter, and of a length
equal to that of the mill rollers.
• It is furnished with a number of longitudinal slots (generally
10) in which are inserted
• The diameter is thus about 33 in. over the tips of the teeth.
• These teeth may be placed at any point in the length of the
slot. They are distributed evenly along the length of the
cylinder
• The total number of teeth is between 5-8
• it is inexpensive, readily installed, and its power consumption
is negligible.
 Shredders Contd
• Drive. Direct drive is generally adopted, by electric motor or
steam engine.
• Speed. The Maxwell shredder should rotate at 450-600 r.p.m.
• Power. The installed power varies from 4 to 5 h.p./t.c.h.

Fig. 11. Maxwell shredder rotor (Fletcher).

 Assignment
Prepare a slide deck on “Furnace and two other
equipment” used for sugar production (to be
presented in the next class)
Considerations for Sugar Plant
1) Costs
• Sugar production, even at the small scale, is a complex
business which requires skilled people to manage and
supervise all aspects of the production, from the
collection of cane to the delivery of sugar to the market
place.
• If these skills are not available locally then they will have
to be brought in to set up the business and to train staff,
which will add cost to the project
• The costs involved with any sugar factory need to be
taken into account.
Considerations for Sugar Plant
• Small service extraction factories are the cheapest
option but will require a crusher, boiling pan and
furnace and some means of driving the crusher.
• Although it is a low-cost option compared to large-
scale production plants, it still requires substantial
investment.
• In addition, there would be costs involved with
operation, maintenance, transport and marketing.
Considerations for Sugar Plant
2) Energy
• Sugar production uses large amt. of energy to boil the juice
as well as that required to operate crushers and other
equipment.
• In most cases sugar factories rely on bagasse as the main
fuel for the boiling process
• For most small to medium-scale single or multi-pan factories
producing lump sugars or syrups there is usually sufficient
bagasse.
• In larger multi-pan factories producing granular sugars, such
as Open Pan Sulphitation (OPS), it is often difficult to obtain
enough bagasse.
• In these situations additional fuel is required which may be
bagasse obtained from another factory or wood.
Considerations for Sugar Plant
• Additional energy sources is also req. to operate the
crushers, crystallizers, centrifuges and other powered
equipment
• This may be electricity or diesel, both of which add to the
total cost.
• Most VP factories are self-sufficient, producing their own
electricity and heating for both the process and the
factory as a whole.
• However, with careful management and using modern,
highly efficient bagasse-fired boilers it is possible to
produce more electricity than is required by the factory.
Considerations for Sugar Plant
3) Transportation
• Transport may be required to bring cane from the fields
to the factory and also to take the product to market.
• If motor vehicles are used then capital, maintenance
and operating costs must be added to the cost of the
product.
• If animal powered transport is used then hire charges
and feed costs are also applicable.
• There may also be costs associated with the loss of the
draft animal to other duties.
Considerations for Sugar Plant
4) Maintenance
• Equipment cannot be operated effectively without proper
maintenance and repair.
• Engines, electric motors, crushers and permanently sited
furnaces will all need routine maintenance if they are to
operate efficiently.
• Crusher rollers will wear with time and require re-machining
which necessitates access to a workshop with a lathe.
• Usually, rolls can only be re-machined once after which they
will be too small for effective crushing.
• Therefore spare rolls or facilities for re-facing old rolls will be
required. Other spares such as bearings and gears may also
be required.
Considerations for Sugar Plant
5) Sugar cane
• Suitable sugar cane must be available if a factory is to be
efficiently operated.
• Because of local conditions and circumstances it may not
be possible to grow the best type of cane.
• It will be necessary to investigate what variety is grown
locally and assess its suitability for the type of processing
undertaken (i.e. jaggery, khandsari, OPS, mini VP etc).
• If the cane is not suitable, then further investigation will
be required to identify a suitable variety taking account of
local growing conditions (i.e soil types, climate, watering,
fertilisers etc).
 Considerations for Sugar Plant
• Most medium-scale factories will require a set of
minimum amount of cane each day.
• Because of the rapid rate of deterioration of the
harvested cane, it must be used with twenty four hours.
• In addition, the growing season may be shorter than
the operational period of a factory and so farmers may
have to grow cane over a longer period to meet
demand.
• Therefore it may be necessary for farmers to change
their farming practices to allow for a longer season and
staggered harvests.